Was the peer-review process established as a way to persecute Christians?

Answer 1

I'm going to go ahead and assume you're putting us on, because nobody can honestly believe this.

Answer 2

No, though it has evolved into a process that CAN be used to silence Christian perspectives.

I'd go so far as to suggest that the peer-review process was created to support a Christian perspective. In the early days of peer-review, researchers who proposed theories that weren't consistent with the Christian view of the way the world works found it nearly impossible to get their results past peer-reviewers that based their perception of what "made sense" on a biblical worldview! Galileo is certainly a great example of how the concept of "peer review" got started...he was silenced because his theories contradicted the accepted worldview.

In a typically short-sighted decision, the early proponents of peer-review believed it would protect their theories from refutation. ...and like any monster, it eventually turned on them.

Yes, peer review can be used to deny legitimacy to Christian researchers who propose theories or report evidence that isn't consistent with the current "accepted body of knowledge"...that's the nature of the beast. Peer review invests the power to determine whether something is "true" in the hands of people who may have any number of motivations for maintining the status quo.

Interestingly, I just completed a survey about my perception of various ethical and other issues in the peer review process for business-related journals. The topics covered were eye-opening for me...clearly the process can be contaminated by a variety of actions that aren't consistent with the discovery of knowledge. Instead, it seems that even in business (let alone the "hard" sciences), both authors and reviewers are motivated to protect themselves at the expense of others.

Answer 3

Poor Christians - so little faith, so much fear of non believers!!

Since most eschew science and everyday facts in favor of a simple belief they are very ill equipped to be compared to their peers!!!!

Answer 4

sure! If you don't like the system, demonize it and cry "persecution!"

"wah! No fair! Evil scientists are using facts! Wah! Let's drag it down and pretend it's opinion so we can defeat it with ignorance and emotion! Wah!"

Answer 5

No, it's not supposed to persecute anyone. It's supposed to be just a helpful process.
I'm sorry if you've had trouble :-( that's not cool.

Answer 6

Or to verify objective facts.

Whichever. To some, they are the same.

Answer 7

Yes. That kind of system effectively destroys Christianity... it must have been made by the devil.

Answer 8

No... It does that as a by product